Money Smart: Get Involved!
Any organization interested in financial education can use Money Smart. For information and instructions on how to obtain copies of the curriculum go to www.fdic.gov or call
1-877-275-3342.

The Money Smart curriculum is comprised of ten comprehensive instructor-led modules covering basic financial topics including an introduction to bank services, tips on obtaining credit and information on buying a home. It can be easily reproduced for wide dissemination and has no copyright restrictions. Money Smart is free to users.

Money Smart is available on CD-ROM in English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean. A Vietnamese version will be released in February 2004.

Send Us Your Success Stories
We want to hear how Money Smart is making a difference in peoples' lives. Submit your stories today!

AmSouth Bank, a regional bank with more than 600 banking offices in the Southeast, sponsored two first-time homebuyer workshops for public housing residents of Covington, Louisiana on October 11 and October 18, 2003. The workshops, entitled "From Renter to Homeownership," were conducted by Emma Dixon, President of the non-profit Creation of Wealth for Financial Security & Asset Building group. Dixon used Money Smart's "Bank On It" module to introduce workshop attendees to bank services. Dixon is also the Louisiana LifeSmarts State Coordinator. LifeSmarts is a program to promote financial literacy among teenagers.

Phoenix Bankers Help Head Start Parents Become Money Smart

More than 20 local employees of Bank One are moonlighting as volunteer teachers in the first local launch of the FDIC's Money Smart financial literacy program. In partnership with Chicano Por La Causa (CPLC), the bankers are rolling out the 10-month financial literacy program to parents whose children participate in CPLC's early education and migrant family Head Start programs. Sessions are conducted in Phoenix, Surprise and Queen Creek. The sessions are conducted concurrently in both English and Spanish.

"The response from Bank One employees and the parent/students has been tremendous," said Patricia Garcia-Duarte, who spearheads the initiative. "After our first classes, parents were asking our teachers if they could accelerate the monthly programs so they can get as much information as quickly as they can."
Garcia-Duarte is Bank One's Arizona Market Manager for Community Investments.

Among the first volunteer teachers were Bank One's Claudia Sanchez, Dennis Bourgeois, Patrice Bettison-Clark, and Mary Hermosillo. Support also came from the Arizona Hispanic Employee Association (AzHEA) and African American Network (AAN).

Money Smart In Iraq!

Christopher Wenner, an FDIC examiner who was called to active duty with the US Army in Iraq, has started Money Smart classes at his duty station in Balad, Iraq. Chris reports that so far he has given training to about 70 soldiers within his battalion. However, with about 18,000 soldiers, airmen, and Marines in Balad, Chris expects to be very busy teaching Money Smart in the coming months. Good luck, Chris! We're very proud of you.